Any Fan's of Hal Roach's "Our Gang"

[Racerbvd]

For the other Hal Roach fans, TCM is 24-hour marathon of Roach attractions..

Hal Roach Studios Introduction
Once described as "the lot that laughter built," Hal Roach Studios launched the careers of such iconic comedy performers as Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon and "Our Gang." From its inception in 1914 to its close in 1960, this "minor" studio competed with the majors in its prodigious output of comedy shorts, independent features and television series. TCM presents the most complete and diverse tribute to the studios ever assembled, with a 24-hour marathon of Roach attractions beginning at 8 pm ET each Tuesday, continuing until 8 pm Wednesday and featuring many of the most popular performers of Hollywood's Golden Age.

January 4 is devoted to Our Gang comedies, with an incredible lineup of 53 shorts, all of them TCM premieres, ranging from 1929's Bouncing Babies to 1931's Helping Grandma. January 11 is a 24-hour salute to Laurel and Hardy, with 40 shorts (16 of which are TCM premieres) and three feature films.

January 18 brings another rare treat -- a collection of 10 Screen Directors Playhouse episodes not seen on television since the original screening of the series on NBC-TV during the 1955-56 season. The series features A-list movie directors and stars creating 30-minute dramas and comedies.

The highlight of the TCM showings, all in new digital video transfers, is Rookie of the Year (1955), which marked a rare foray into television for director John Ford and the television debut of star John Wayne in a hard-hitting baseball drama about an unemployed sportswriter who uncovers a scoop about a hot young pitcher. Ford and Wayne were working on their classic The Searchers during this period and are joined by three other cast members from that film: Vera Miles, Ward Bond and Wayne's son Patrick.

Among other distinguished directors spotlighted in the series are Leo McCarey, H.C. Potter, George Marshall, Ida Lupino, David Butler, Fred Zinnemann and Allan Dwan. Stars include Peter Lawford, Robert Ryan, Buster Keaton, Peter Lorre, Jeanette MacDonald, Errol Flynn, Ray Milland, Rod Steiger, Angela Lansbury and Dennis Hopper.

The Screen Directors Playhouse episodes are followed by another amazing series of 38 Roach shorts from the 1920s and '30s, 28 of which are TCM premieres. The featured performers include Harry Langdon, Our Gang, Charley Chase, "Taxi Boys," "The Boy Friends," Thelma Todd, Zasu Pitts, Patsy Kelly and Lyda Roberti.

January 25 brings the series to a close with a 24 hour marathon of 17 Roach feature films, ranging from the Laurel and Hardy adventure Sons of the Desert (1933) to the TCM premiere of Taxi, Mister (1943), the final entry in a comedy series starring William Bendix and Joe Sawyer as two guys from Brooklyn. Also included are Topper (1937), Topper Takes a Trip (1939) and Topper Returns (1941), a delightful comedy trilogy starring Roland Young as the lovably stuffy banker haunted by madcap ghosts variously and charmingly played by Constance Bennett, Cary Grant and Joan Blondell.

[Nostril Cheese]

Carl Switzer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alfalfa was a real bastard, it seems

[azasadny]

Thanks for the info1 I love that show and I watched it during my childhood...

[Joe Bob]

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

Carl Switzer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alfalfa was a real bastard, it seems

Pretty typical of child stars that don't make the transition to adult acting......

[VINMAN]

Awesome! Thanks for the heads up, Byron!!

[Racerbvd]

Baby Spanky ROCKED!!!!

[azasadny]

I watched the show last night, brought back a lot of good memories!

[drcoastline]

When I watched they were the "Little Rascals". Spanky, Alfalfa, Froggy, Darla, Stymie, Buckwheat, Chubby, Pete the Dog. It was great.

I'm still a member of the He man woman haters club.

Well maybe the club is now called The he man I don't understand woman club?

[DavidI]

My brother bought me the DVD set for Christmas. It brought back some great memories!

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

When I watched they were the "Little Rascals". Spanky, Alfalfa, Froggy, Darla, Stymie, Buckwheat, Chubby, Pete the Dog. It was great.

I'm still a member of the He man woman haters club.

Well maybe the club is now called The he man I don't understand woman club?

I belong to the He-Man Women Chasers Club,, really... Had it on in the back ground all afternoon..

[gunlover05]

I love the little rascals...for christmas this year i bought my 6 yr old a DVD set of many classic little rascals episodes....he laughed and laughed and never seems to get tired of watching them over and over....the contraptions they built and adventures they got into are still great entertainment 70 yrs later....

[dhoward]

I watched some last night. The 'restoration' was pretty poorly done IMHO, lots of bad audio, intermixing obviously new titling with old, etc. I was disappointed.

[rcooled]

I watched the Our Gang marathon off & on all day...good fun! Interesting to see how people lived in the '30s...the clothes, hairstyles, furniture, cars, appliances, etc.
Some of those skits that were perfectly acceptable back then would never fly today. I happened to catch one episode where Jackie and Chubby were vying for the affections of their teacher, Miss Crabtree. She comes over to Jackie's house dressed to the nines and they sit really close together on the couch. After a bunch of sweet talk, she even kisses him. Chubby then shows up with flowers and actually tries proposing to her. Couldn't imagine stuff like that happening on some family comedy show in this day & age.